RUPERT WALL is the Head of Sidley’s Global Finance Group in Europe and the Global Co-Head of Sidley's Structured Finance Practice.
Rupert has over 20 years’ experience in structured and asset-backed finance transactions involving a diverse range of asset classes (including trade, consumer and other receivables; auto, student, aircraft, shipping, corporate, mid-market/direct lending and other loans and leases; vehicle rental fleets and residential and commercial mortgage loans), encompassing a wide range of public and private financing structures (including RMBS, CMBS, ABCP conduits, covered bonds, whole-business securitisations and CLO/CBO/CDOs, as well as more esoteric or synthetic structures).
Rupert advises fund sponsors, arrangers, originators, investment managers and investors on all aspects of securitisation, structured finance, asset-backed lending, fund financing, structured products and derivatives. He also advises counterparties in relation to general capital markets issuances, leveraged finance transactions and portfolio transactions (both performing and distressed/non-performing).
Rupert consistently receives acknowledgement from industry ranking guides, including, most recently:
Legal 500 UK 2025, London – Ranked for each of Securitisation (as a “Leading Partner”), Structured Products (as a “Recommended Lawyer”), Derivatives (as a “Recommended Lawyer”) and Property Finance (as a “Recommended Lawyer”), where clients have described him as “an exceptionally talented individual in the securitisation space, which is generally full of talented and smart individuals….He has the ability to understand issues quickly and deal with them thoroughly. If securitisation were a country, Rupert would be the president.”
Chambers UK 2025 (UK and Global rankings) – Ranked for Capital Markets: Securitisation; Capital Markets: CLOs and Capital Markets: Structured Products, where clients have noted that “Rupert has an encyclopedic view and is able to explain his thought process eloquently,” “is technically astute and highly collaborative,” and that he is “knowledgeable, commercial and supportive when the need arises.”
Chambers 2024 (UK and Global rankings) – Ranked for each of: Capital Markets: Securitisation; Capital Markets: Structured Products; and Capital Markets: CLOs, where clients note that he is “always aware of what is going on in his deals, meaning he can quickly raise potential issues as and when they arise, offering a solutions-based approach to deal with such issues,” that he “can deal with highly complex, novel and bespoke matters,” “offers pragmatic advice and delivers technical issues in an understandable way” and that “his cross-practice expertise and deep fundamental knowledge means he provides sound counsel.”
The Legal 500 UK 2024, London – Ranked for: Securitisation (as a “Leading Individual”) and for Derivatives and Structured Products (as a “Recommended Lawyer”), with clients noting that he is “extremely intelligent, commercially savvy, has great experience in the securitisation market and can provide compelling advice at a moment’s notice,” that he “has thoroughly impressed us with his exceptional qualities — responsiveness, extensive knowledge and cross-practice expertise. He has always sought to achieve the best position for us on transactions and is very eloquent in defending our position which leads to the best outcome” and that he is “friendly, commercial- and solutions-oriented, without sacrificing on the highest level of knowledge and expertise.”
Chambers 2023 (UK and Global rankings) – Ranked for: Capital Markets: CLOs; Capital Markets: Securitisation and Capital Markets: Structured Products – where he has been recognised by clients as “consistently exceed[ing] our expectations in terms of the breadth and depth of his commercial knowledge and sophistication in the structured credit market;” as “very capable and a genuine business adviser. He doesn’t waste time on pointless advice and focuses on the issues that count;” as “fantastic at client management; his responsiveness and his quality of advice is great,” and as “extremely knowledgeable and…very engaged in market developments and interesting structural solutions.”
The Legal 500 UK 2023, London – Ranked for: Securitisation (as a “Leading Individual”) and for Derivatives and Structured Products (as a “Recommended Lawyer”) where he has been acknowledged by clients as “a standout individual in the market. Thorough, extremely experienced and knowledgeable as well as hands-on and accessible,” and “able to deploy his extensive experience and deep technical skills to the most challenging transactions. He is highly regarded in the market and incredibly solutions-focused.”
Chambers UK 2022 (UK and Global rankings) – Ranked for: Capital Markets: Securitisation, where he was acknowledged by clients as being “extremely responsive; he’s also fantastic at pro-actively looking for ways to support you. He’s very technically capable and will fight for you.”
Earlier editions of the Chambers UK and Legal 500 rankings have been similarly positive in their feedback with clients describing Rupert as: “very personable” with “an excellent approach to solving problems,” “excellent market knowledge,” and “a deep understanding of his practice area from CMBS and RMBS to CLOs,” who “will really fight for his clients,” and who is “very strong technically” (Chambers UK 2021); “business-focused, with a good understanding of market developments” (Chambers UK 2020); “technically excellent, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the CLO market;” “thorough and detailed and personable to work with” (Chambers UK 2019); “stand[ing] out as being a valued adviser who, as well as being hugely bright and intellectual, has a unique ability to listen carefully to the often complex commercial dynamics that we require of a transaction and meld those seamlessly into its structure” (Chambers UK 2018); and “a standout lawyer for ABS and CLO deals,” and “a subject matter expert with the ability to get straight to the point; he has a brain the size of a planet and works very well in high pressure situations,” is “responsive, commercially minded” with “considerable experience and talent,” and “one of the brightest young partners in the market” (Legal 500 2018).
Rupert is also the author of numerous academic and commercial securitisation guides, including:
The “England and Wales” chapter of the International Comparative Legal Guide to Securitisation every year since 2012 (and for which he has been Global Contributing Editor to the entire publication since 2020).
The “Blockchain Securitisation” expert analysis chapter to the International Comparative Legal Guide to Securitisation, 2022.
Various Practical Law (PLC) guides and articles on securitisation, including the “England and Wales” chapter of the “Q&A Guide to Structured Finance and Securitisation” the “CLO: Overview” Practice Note and the “Securitisation: regulatory framework and reforms” Practice Note.